Impacting apparatus



Nov. 28., 1961 c. E. GoDFRl-:Y Erm. 3,010,407

IMFACTING APPARATUS F'1ed May 18, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 In verzzorsCar/es E. Codfmeg/ Wes/@cg 7'. Jorzsorz Jr'.

Nov. 2s, 1961 3,010,407

C. E. GODFREY I'AL IMPACTING APPARATUS Filed Maj 18, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet2 'Mmmm "JIII @bar/6.5 f, oa'flg/ Wes/eg Z Jo/msorz Jr.

Nov. 28, 1961 c. E. Goni-'REY ETAL 3,010,407

IMPACTING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 18, 1955 Hill". Hi s A11n/en zons 'Car/es E. Godfrey, Wes/eg 71 UIQ/:neon Jr. 354 Jl/1MM Nov.28, 1961 Filed May 1s, A1955 C. E. GODFREY FAL IMPACTING APPARATUS 5Sheets-Sheet 4 NOV. 28, 1961 c. E. GODFREY ErAL 3,010,407

IMPACTING APPARATUS Filed May 18, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Zoo l Y 4 y I sI/ l /I i 4 2 luc g l las \`II` v i ,f g 1': si

pm l I l \L\ Inventors 22o Car/es f. Cioa'ft'eg/ Ves/eci! '.77Jo/7:25012 Jr.

M Me W United States Patent O 3,010,407 IMPACTING APPARATUS Charles E.Godfrey, Lombard, and Wesley T. Johnson, Jr.,

Chicago, lll., assignors to American Brake Shoe Company, New York, N.Y.,a corporation of Delaware Filed May 18, 1955, Ser. No. 509,297 13Claims. (Cl. 104-17) This invention relates to a spike driver forrailway spikes.

In the spiking during tie renewals, nail relay construction of newtrack, and like operations entailing the use of railway spikes, theusual procedure involved is for one workman to distribute the spikes,another to set the spikes and then for a third workman to drive thespikes home by an air hammer or the like. In view of the labor entailed,proposals have been made of mechanized spike drivers which may include aspike guide for feeding and positioning each spike to be driven,whereupon the ham mer of the driver is then to be operative on the headof the spike. Spike drivers of this kind are of relatively complicatedconstruction and considerable diiculty in operation has beenencountered, particularly with regard to the means that are proposed tofeed and position the spikes prior to the driving operation. Moreover,it is desirable that the spike to be driven be held accurately alignedso that the hammer blow will be properly directed, and experience hasshown that drivers of the foregoing kind have not successfullysurmonnted this problem.

In some spike drivers as heretofore constructed, the spikes are oftenmissed by the hammers, and this is due in a large part to cumbersomestructure and dificulty on the part of the operator in determiningwhether or not the hammers are accurately aligned with respect to theheads of the spikes.

The primary object of the present invention is to enable the spikes forrailway track construction to be irst placedV in the spike opening inthe tie plate, and then to be automatically aligned or positioned in anearly vertical relation whereupon the spike is then driven home byhammers that are so formed as to assure either that the spike will beprevented from undergoing misalignment or on the other hand that thehammers will automatically position themselves.

More specifically, it is the object of the present invention to enablepredistributed and prepositioned, partially erected spikes for railwaytrack construction to be driven by hammers arranged on a carriageadapted to be propelled manually along the track, the spikes beingerected to operative position as an incident to movement of the carriagealong the track to locate the hammers with respect to the heads of thespikes -to be driven. In this connection, a further object of thepresent invention is to form the front heads of the aforementionedhammers with recessed walls so inclined as to assure proper alignment ofthe spike for driving and to retain that spike while driving. The termsprepositioned and prepositioned and partially erected, as usedthroughout this specification `and in the appended claims, are definedas relating to a spike or similar rail-retaining device which has beenmanually or otherwise placed in an opening in a. railway -tie plate andwhich remains in partially erected posture primarily by virtue ofengagement of the spike with the walls of the tie plate opening.

Further objects of the present invention are to arrange a pair ofhammers for driving railway spikes so that the hammers will he able toiloat one with respect to the other, as may be required undercircumstances, and to form the hammers with front heads enabling this tobe accomplished; and to erect upright from partially erected conditionprepositioned spikes that are to be driven, and

to accomplish this in such a way that the spikes will be prevented fromfalli-ng toward or away from the rail.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description `and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which 4by way of illustration show a preferredembodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and whatwe now consider to be the best mode in which we have contemplatedapplying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodyingthe same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes maybe made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is -a perspective view of the driver disposed to travel on a pairof rails;

FlG. 2 is another perspective of a driver disposed as aforesaid;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary detail of the bottom of the driver taken in a`direction along one of the rails;

FIG. 4 is a detail view of a rail engaging wheel;

FIG. 5 is 1a ldiagrarrnrratic view on an enlarged scale showing therelation of the front heads of the hammers and the spike positionerswith respect to the spikes to be driven;

FIG. 5A is la plan View of the interior of the recess in the front headof the hammer;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary detail of a spike positioner;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the driver;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of an air system that may be used;and

FIG.,9 is `a sectional view of the pneumatic means for operating thecross-heads of the hammer, being taken substantially o-n the line 9 9 ofFIG. 7.

It will be appreciated that the normal practice in fastening rails tothe ties is to position the spikes for the rails in the openingsprovided in the tie plates arranged between the rails and the ties.There are usually a pair of such openings on either side of each tieplate quite near the base lof the rail. Thus, for each tie plate, onespike is disposed in one of the openings nearer the rail on one lside ofthe rail, and a second spike is disposed in one `of the tie plateopenings nearer the base of the rail on the opposite side, thelarrangement being such that these two spikes are on a diagonal. Theopenings in the tie plate adjacent the base of the rail are of anadequate depth to hold the 'spike partially erected without manualassistance, and advantage is taken of this in accordance with thepresent invention to erect spikes predistribu-ted and prepositioned inthis way to a near vertical relation as an incident to movement of thespike driver or carriage along the track.

The driver of the present invention is illustrated in the drawings,FIGS. 1, 2 and 7 as embodied in a carriage 20 having a handle bar Henabling the carriage to be propelled manually along the rails R1 and R2of a railway track. To this end, a horizontal base frame 21 is provided,including a pair of hollow square bars 22 and 23 which when the truck ispositioned on the track are disposed transverse to the direction of thetracks. Spacer or tie bars 24 and 25 are provided adjacent the oppositeends of the transverse bars 22 and 23, and in this way a relativelyrigid frame structure is provided for the carriage 20. Telescoped intothe open ends of the bars 22 and l23 at one side of the frame 21 are apair of Outrigger arms 31 and 32. The arms 31 and 32 are secured in thetransverse bars 22 and 23 in any suitable Way, as by set screws, toenable the arms 31 and 32 to be adjusted with respect to the frame 21,and at the ends of the Outrigger arms away from the frame 21 area pairof rail engaging Patented Nov. 28, 1961 3,010,407 Y ,Y e f 3 wheels 33and 34 suitably journaled on axles that are supported by the outriggers31 and 32. In the present instance the wheels 33 and 34 ride on rail R2but this relation may be reversed as will be described.

Intermediate the length of the transverse bars 22 and 23 of the frame21, pairs of angle irons 35 and 36, FIG. 7, are secured to the outerfaces of the transverse bars 22 and 23 so as to project outwardlytherefrom in spaced apart parallel relation. A pair of axles as 37 areextended between the angle irons 35 and 36 so as to be parallel to thecross members 22 and 23 of the frame 21, and these axles rotatablysupport a pair of rail engaging anged wheels 40 which ride on the railR1 opposite the rail R2 on which the wheels 33 and 34 are disposed toride.

The rail engaging wheels 40 are in the present instance adjustable innature so as to accommodate diierent widths of rail heads that may beencountered. Each wheel 40 includes a tread 40T and a fixed flange 40F,FIG. 4. A sleeve 41 is mounted on each axle 37, and an independentflange 42 is disposed on the sleeve 41 to rotate with the wheel 40. Eachsuch ange 42 is connected to its wheel 40 by an adjustable cap screw 44having a `coil spring 45 serving to position the independent flange withrespect to the ixed flange 40F of the wheel. In this Way, the spacingbetween the anges of the wheels 40 may be adjusted by tightening orloosening the cap screws 44 acting between the independent flange andthe xed flange. t Y

The carriage 20 in the present instance may be readily mounted on anddismounted from the track at the area where the spikes are to be driven,and this is accomplished by having resort to a pair of retractablecarriage supporting tires. Thus, as shown in FIGS. l, 2 and 7, a pair ofspaced apart'tires'50 and 51 are rotatably supported on axles that arecarried by corresponding retractable gear 52, 53, this gear being in theform of two yokes which are each formed at the end opposite the tireaxles with an arm 55. Each arm 55 is pivoted on a pin 57, and thesepivot pins for the tire gear are supported in a pair of mountingbrackets 60 and 61 secured as by a weld to the outer ends of the angleirons 35 and 36 which carry the rail engaging wheels 40. It will beappreciated that the tires 50 and 51 are in Y retracted position as thecarriage is illustrated in FIGS. l,

2 and 7, and this retracted position is one wherein the treads of thetires 50 and 51 are disposed ybetween the rails R1 and R2 and above theties thereby serving to provide a stabilizing balance for the carriage.

The yokes 52 and 53 are held retracted by removable pins 65, FIG. l,which are adapted to be passed through registered openings provided inthe brackets 60 and 61 and the arms 55 of the tire gear, therebypositioning the tire gear with the tires elevated as aforesaid.

To reverse the tire gear from retracted position, it is merely necessaryto withdraw the pins 65 and to then lift the tires and rotate the yokes52 and 53 outwardly from between the rails to dispose the tires 50 and51 on the outside of the rail as R1. For purposes of understanding, itwill be observed in FIG. 3 that are reversed position of tire 51 isillustrated in comparison to the normal or retracted position of tire 50with respect to the rail as R1. When reversal of the tire gear has Vbeenaccomplished, the two latch pins 65 are then passed through openings 69at the outer ends of the brackets 60 and 61, the openings 69being'located of course to register with the aforementioned openingsprovided in the arms 55 Vof the tire gear. When this has beenaccomplished, the carriage 20 is moved along the track by the handle barH until the respective tires 50 and 51 in reversed position are locatedover end portions of a corresponding pair of ties outwardly of rail R1.The outriggers 31 and 32 adjacent the opposite rail are then grasped,and the carriage lifted to lower the tires 50 and 51 on to the portionsof the ties 4 that extend outwardly of rail R1. Thereupon, the carriageis moved off the track on to the shoulders of the road bed, the carriagenow being supported by the tires 50 and 51.

The converse of the above will be readily apparent. Thus, when thecarriage is to be moved from the road bed on the track in the `areawhere spikes are to be driven, the tires 50 and 51 or" course aresupporting the carriage. Then, when the carriage 20 is to be set on thetrack, the carriage is manipulated by the outriggers and the carriage isthen pulled up toward the track as facilitated by the tires 50 and 51 inouter position. When the rail engaging wheels 40 are aligned with a railas R1, the carriage is lowered so that the rail engaging wheels 33 and34 are disposed on the opposite rail as R2, and if adjustment isnecessitated due to the head of rail R1 this is accomplished byadjusting the anges 42 as aforesaid. The pins 65 are withdrawn from theopenings 69, and the tire gear is then pivoted inwardly to be disposedbetween the rails,

and the pins 65 are then inserted in the lock-up positions shown inFIG. 1. v

As will be described herein below, the carriage in the present instancecarries a pair of air hammers for driving spikes that have beenpredistributed and prepositioned on opposite sides of the base of onerail as R1 or R2. In order to drive spikes for either rail R1 or R2 andto proceed in either direction along the track, the outrigger arms 31and 32 may be disposed on either side of frame 21 as enabled by thehollow cross bars 22 and 23, FIGS. 1 and 2, into which the outriggersmay be telescoped. This allows the driver to spike rails in whateverdirection the rail gang may be working, and allows the operator alwaysto move forward with the gang.

The carriage 20 mounts a pair of air hammers 70 and 71 which arearranged as shown in FIG. 7, so that the lower or so-called front headsof the hammers, as will be pointed out in more detail herein below, wil]be positioned over a pair of spikes that are to be simultaneously drivenon opposite sides of the rail.

One of the more important aspects of the invention is that the hammers70 and 71 in the present instance are supported by the carriage 20 in alloating relation, which is to say that during the course of driving apair of spikes Vthe hammers may automatically undergo aligning movementswith respect to the spikes to be driven. The supports for the airhammers include a pair of brackets 73 and 74 which are adjustablymounted on the cross members 22 and 23 of the frame 21 adjacent the tiebar 24 as shown in FIG. 7, and in like manner another pair of brackets75 and 76 are adjustably mounted on the opposite side of the frame 21adjacent the tie bar 25. These brackets each include a depending,relatively short iiange as 77, FIGS. 1 and 2, that is adapted to engagethe inner side or face of the cross members 22 and 23. Additionally,each such bracket is cast with a socket member as 79, FIG, 1, thepurpose of which will be pointed out herein below.

The brackets 73 and 75 are each provided with a vertical clamp plate Awhich extends from the top of each socket 79 to the bottom of theassociated cross member 23, and the lower ends of the clamps 80A areformed with an inwardly directed right angled lug 81, FIG. 1, whichengages the underside of the associated cross member 23. The brackets 74and 76 opposite the brackets 73 and 75 are provided with like clampplates 80B. Tie rods 83 and 84 are extended between the clamps 80A and80B in each set, and at one end each tie rod projects beyond its clamp80A and is provided with a nut adapted to be tightened against the outerface of the clamp 80A. The opposite ends of the tie rods 83 and 84project in like manner beyond theopposte clamps 80B, and these oppositeends of the tie rods are threaded and are provided with clamp handles88, FIG. 2. The clamp handles 88, of which there are two, are eachformed with a relatively large clamp head 89, so that as the handles areturned inwardly on the spurgo?l threaded ends of the tie rods the clampheads 89 bear against the outer faces of the clamps 80B to thereby drawthe clamps 80A and 80B tightly against the outer faces of the crossmembers 22 and 23, and it will be recognized in this connection that theflanges as 77 of the brackets prevent or resist the tendency for theframe to be distorted during the drawing up of the clamps 80A and 80B.In this way, the brackets 73, 74, 75 and 76 may be selectivelypositioned on the frame 21 to accordingly locate the hammers 70 and 71as will be apparent from the description to follow.

As was mentioned, each bracket as 73 is formed with a mounting socket orhousing 79, and these housings each include a pair of upper and lowerdrilled openings serving to support a pair of correspondingly spacedapart guide sleeves 91 and 92, that extend from one bracket as 75 to theother as 76 which is paired therewith. The guide sleeves 91 and 92 maybe conveniently aiorded by steel tubing, and the ends thereof which arereposed in the mounting sockets of the adjustable brackets as 73 areengaged by bolts 93, HG. 1, which are passed through the sockets 79. 'Itmay here be pointed out that the lower guide tubes 92 in each instancewill be telescoped on to the tie rods 83 and 84 mentioned above.

The air hammers 70 and 71 are supported in a vertical relation and eachincludes a conventional hammer cylinder 100, FIG. 2, having a so-calledback head 101, and secured to the back head 101 is a transmitting stubblock 102. Each stub block 102 in turn is welded to the underside of across head 103 adapted to raise and lower, but not drive, the hammerswith respect to the heads of the spikes as will be described below.Bolted to each hammer cylinder 100 is a front head 105, and the natureof this front head will be described in detail below.

It will be appreciated of course that the hammers 70 and 71 are normallyheld raised, as will be described, in retracted position so that the`front heads 105 of the hammers will clear the heads of the spikes asthe carriage undergoes positioning to drive the spikes. The air hammers70 and 71 are thus held in retracted position by pairs of verticalair-operated pistons 110 and 111 illustrated schematically in FIG. 8,there being a pair of such pistons for each cross head 103. The pistons110 and 111 for operating the cross heads 103 are each arranged forreciprocation in a corresponding air cylinder as 110C, FIG. 9. Eachcylinder as 110C in turn is surrounded by a relatively large guidesleeve 112 which is stationary as will be pointed out. Telescoped overthe stationary :guides 112 are vertically slidable guide sleeves 113,and the cross head 103 for each hammer 70 and 71 bridges the guidesleeves as 113 that are disposed on opposite sides of the hammer. Theopposite end of each cross head 103 is clamped as by bolts 103B, FIG. 9,to an `anchor plate 115 mounted in the upper end of the correspondingguide sleeve 113.

T o raise and lower the cross heads 103, each air piston as 110operating in an air cylinder as 110C is threadedly mounted at the upperend in a sleeve 117 centered in the anchor plate 115, and each suchsleeve 117 includes a flange 117F bearing against the underside of theassociated anchor plate 115. The sleeves 117 extend through the ends ofthe cross heads 103, and mounted on the projected end of each sleeve 117is a coil spring 119 serving as a shock absorber. Each coil spring 119is tensioned by a washer 120 and a pair of nuts 122 threaded on theexposed end of the piston 110. AIn this way, the ilange 117F of thesleeve 1.17 is drawn up on the anchor plate 115 so that movement of thepistons 11i) and 111 will be imparted to the cross heads 103.

When the hammers are to be lowered, compressed air is admitted to thetops of the cylinders at 110C, and to the bottoms when the hammers areto be raised, as will be described.

The means thus afforded for raising and lowering the hammers 70 and 71and guiding the hammers accurately during such movement are carried in aoating relation on the guide sleeves 91 and 92. Thus, for hammer 70there are two spaced apart supports 131 and 132, FIGS. 2 and 7, havingopenings extended horizontally therethrough enabling the supports to betelescoped on to the guides 91 and 92. The supports 131 and 132 areinterconnected by an integral spacer -web 133, and each such support iscast at the bottom with a mounting base as 134, FIG. 7. A boss 134B,FIG. 9, is bolted to each base 134, and thelower end of each sleeve 112brazed thereto. The lower end of each cylinder as C is threaded on to astub 135B of a block 135, and these blocks are secured to each mountingbase as 134 by screws or the like, FIG. 9.

A similar arrangement is aorded for the guide sleeves 112 for the hammer71, including supports 136 and 137, FIG. 7, mounted on the horizontalguides 91 and 92 which are spaced on the frame 21 inwardly of the guides91 and 92 on which the supports 131 and 132 are mounted.

Interposed between the supports 131-132 and 136- 137 for each air hammerare individual coil springs 138 which are concentrically mounted on theguide tubes 91 and 92 as shown particularly in FIG. 2, there being twosuch coil springs on the guide 91 and two on the guide 92. Each pair ofsupports 131-132 and 136-137 are adapted to slide independently on theguides 91 and 92, and in order that these supports will be disposed inpositions that locate the air hamers 70 and 71 in a diagonal or otherrelation required by the positioning of the spikes to be driven, slideclamps 140 and 141, FIGS. 2 and 7, are interposed between the coilsprings 138 so that there are two coil springs on either side of theclamps 140 and 141 on the Irespective sets of guides 91 and 92. Eachsuch slide clamp is in the form of a pair of complemental U-shapedmembers 143 and 144, FIG. l, the opposite ends of which are curved orbent to embrace opposite sides of the respective sets of guide tubes 91and 92. The complemental clamp members 143 and 144 as thus provided foreach slide clamp 140 and 141 are connected by a pin, and threaded on oneend of the pin is a clamp handle 145, FIG. 2, similar to the clamphandles 88 described above. Thus, when the clamps 140 and 141 are to betightened, the clamp handle as 145 is turned inwardly to draw thecomplemental members 143 and 144 tightly against the guides 91 and 92.When so fixed with respect to the guides 91 and 92, the clamps 140 and141 serve as xed abutments against which the inner ends of the coilsprings 138 are adapted to be compressed. It will be appreciated,however, that the supports 131 and 132, and 136 and 137, which carry theair hammer guide sleeves 112 are free to shift or lloat either to theleft or right as viewed in FIG. 2, as enabled by the coil springs 138.In this way, the air hammers 70 and 71 are adapted, independently of oneanother, to automatically seat themseives with respect to the spikes tobe driven as will now be explained.

Under the present invention, the rail spikes S, FIG. 2, are distributedin advance of the carriage or driver 20. TWO such spikes are freelymounted in the openings 143, FIG. 2, on either side of the tie plate147, these openings being the ones that are nearer the base B of therail as is the usual practice wherein two partly erected spikes as SFIand S-2, FIG. 3, occupy diagonal ones of the openings in a tie plate.When thus prepositioned in advance of the carriage 20, the spikes as S-land S-2 will normally be canted or inclined from the vertical as shownin FIG. 3, but it will be appreciated that there are circumstances wherethese spikes might be canted in the opposite direction, that is,inclined toward rather than away from the rail. As the carriage is movedalong the track toward a pair of such prepositioned spikes, the spikesare then tilted or erected in a trued vertical relation as indicated atS-3 and S-4 conditioning the spikes to be driven. Under the presentinvention, this is accomplished by underslung spike positionersdepending from the frame Z1 so as to travel with the carriage onopposite sides of a rail as R1. In the present instance, the spikepositioners are conligured so that as the carriage advances toward apair ofprepositioned spikes as S-3 and S-4 to be driven on oppositesides of the rail the spikes are gradually erected to trued position.Inasmuch as the positioner impact on the spikes may be of considerablemagnitude in some circumstances, or the road may be banked, the spikepositioners preferably embody means to hold the spikes upright toprevent over correction.

The spike positioners are in the form of arms so arranged as to engagethe vertical edge of the spike on the side of the spike which isopposite the direction in which the spike is toV be moved to truevertical position, the arrangement being further such that these armsare adapted to be retracted from the spike as the hammers are effectivein a driving operation. Thus, it will be observed in FIG. 3 that a pairof arms 150 and 151 are suspended below the frame 21 to travel onopposite sides of the rail R1. Each such arm is supported by a pair ofleaf springs 153 and 154, FIG. 2. Thus, the upper ends of the leafsprings as 153 and 154 are bifurcated at 155, FIG. 2, to embrace theShanks of bolts carried by the supports as 131 and 132 for the airhammer guides. The exposed ends of these bolts are provided with washersand nuts 156 adapted to clamp the bifurcated portion of the leaf springsto the outer faces of the air hammer guide supports, and in this Way theleaf springs 154 and 154 may be adjusted vertically to set the spikepositioner arms 150 and 151 so that the path of the positioner arms onthe carriage 2!) will be `coincident with what constitute medialportions of the shanks of the spikes to be erected.

The lower ends of the leaf springs are fastened by mounting screws orthe like 157, FIG. 5, to the vertical anges 158F of a pair of anglebrackets having the horizontal anges 158H thereof secured to the upperface of the corresponding spike positioner arm 150 or 151. Thepositioners 150 and 151 are each bow-like in configuration as these areviewed in plan, since so to do provides a pair of oppositespike-engaging elements -as 150A and 150B, FIG. 6, on each spikepositioner that converge inwardly toward the rail to afford a straightface as 150C medially of the length of each spike positioner. Then, asthe carriage is advanced toward a pair of prepositioned spikes as S-1and S-Z the forward or leading spike-engaging elements 150A and 151A ineach instance will gradually erect the spikes as an incident of forwardmovement of the carriage 20 until the spikes are trued as indicated atS-3 and S-4, FIG. 3. Under this circumstance, the trued spikes will beengaged by the straight edges as 150C of each spike positioner.

As was mentioned above, the brackets which carry the vertical guidesleeves as 112 for supporting the air hammers are slidable transverselyof the frame 21, and hence these brackets are selectively adjustable sothat the front heads 105 of the hammers 70 and 71 will have beenpreviously set in predetermined position centered over the openings inthe tie plates in which the predistributed and partially erected spikeswill be located. Incidental to the setting of the front heads 165 of theair hammers in this manner, the spike positioners will likewise be setso that when the spikes undergo erection the heads of the spikes will beunderneath the front heads of the air hammers.

As shown in FIG. 5 the front head 105 of each air hammer is recessed atthe lower end to afford a seat 1058 for the head of the spike, and thewalls of the spike head seat are inclined at 105A and 105B, these wallsbeing, re-V spectively, the walls which are adjacent the head of therail and the wall farthest from the head of the rail. In the event thata spike released to the hammer tends to become laterally misaligned inerected condition, one or the other inclined wall 105A and 105B duringactuation of the hammer will engage -an edge of the head of the spike tolaterally realign the spike accurately with respect to the hammer block155 which is the part of the hammer 8 thatv delivers the driving blow.fExperience has shown that the slope of the walls A and 105B should notbe more than about 27 maximum. Approximately 23 has beenound'satisfactory. n

In addition to the opposed side walls 155A and 105B, the fore and aftwalls 105C and `195D of the :recess in each front head 105 are similarlysloped as shown in FIG. 5A, and the reason for this will be explainedherein below.

Mention was made above that the spike positioners are retractable, andthis is so in order that the positioners can 'be retracted from the pathof the hammers. This is attained by having resort to a cam block -orinclined bafe 156 above the straight edge 150C on each positioner. Whenthe hammer is actuated, FIG. 5, vthe lower outer edge of the front head105 of the hammer engages the cam 156 and such continued engagementquickly retracts the positioner from the path of the descending hammeras enabled by the leaf springs which support the spike positioner. Thearrangement in this connection is such that the positioner is notretracted from the spike to be driven |until the recess or seat 1508 inthe front head shrouds the head of the spike, and in this way the headof the spike is freed to the aligning action of the sloped walls 105Aand 105B of the front head incidental to operation of the hammer.

' Because of the momentum with which the spike positioners may initiallyengage the spikes, or because of elevations at curves in the track, itis advantageous to aiford means acting in a positive manner to hold thespike upright until the front head of the hammer is active. Not onlydoes this assure that the spike is held upright until the front headshrouds the head of the spike as aforesaid, but it also assures that thespike when first engaged by the spike positioner will not be knockedbeyond a trued or vertical position. One method of attaining this thathas been found highly satisfactory, is to afford a magnetic field offorce. Thus, it will be observed that each spike positioner includes apair of upper and lower spaced apart plates of steel, 15S and 159respectively, FIG. 5, these plates being conligured to account for thecoverging spike engaging elements of each positioner Vas was mentioneabove. Interposed between the magnetizable steel plates as thus atfordedare a plurality of permanent magnets 160, FIGS. 5 and 6, having thepoles thereof arranged in the same way. To prevent the spike positionersfrom picking up foreign matter, non-magnetic aluminum plates 161, FIGS.2, 5 and 6, coextensive in length with the spike positioners are used toencase the magnets, and nonmagnetic tie bolts 162,'FIG. 6, are used tohold these parts together. p

It will be -appreciated that the magnets 164) will be selected of suchstrength that the spikes will not be seized by the positioner to theextent that the spike will pick up completely the forward motion of thedriver carriage. Thus, as the carriage and positioners suspendedtherebelow are moved forward, the leading spike-engaging elements as Aand 151A of each positioner contacts a predistributed spike and alignsit to near vertical, since during this action the friction of theguiding surface of the positioner and the magnetic force exerted on thespike tends somewhat to push the spike forward out of vertical, theamount depending upon the fit of the spike in the spike hole `of the tieplate. However, once the hammers are lowered and then actuated theinclined surfaces 105C or 105D inside the front heads 105 strike theheads of the spikes in such a manner as to straighten or realign theSpikes longitudinally with respect to the rail. If it does occur,however, that one or the other spike has somehow takena firm hold makingit impossible to undergo longitudinal alignment by the action. of thefront head, that spike will then position the hammer through the slope105C or 105D on the front head to a normal driving position withrelation tothe head of the spike. Such automatic positioning of thehammers is accomplished through 9 the oating arrangement of the hammersupports 1314132 and 136-137 on the guide tubes 91 and 92, and o courseeach hammer can position itself independently of the other.

While what will be described below constitutes the preerred air systemfor operating the air hammers and for raising and lowering the guidesthat carry the hammers, it will be appreciated that such constitutes nopart of the present invention and may be modified or altered ascircumstances require.

The air system in the present instance is controlled primarily from afour-way valve 200, tFIG. l, of standard construction, and this valve issupported at the upper end of an upright 201 which at the lower end maybe secured in any, suitable fashion to the cross member 22 of the frame21. This same upright also serves as a mounting post for the handle barH, there being suitable sockets as 203, FIG. 2, on either side of theupright 201 in which the ends of the handle bar H are mounted andsecured by a lock screw or in some other suitable fashion.

The air valve 200 is controlled by a handle 205 which is in a normal orraised position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 8. Under this circumstance, airis exhausted from the four air cylinders las 110C atorded for Ithehammer guides through `a line 207 that opens in to the top of each Suchcylinder. The exhaust line 207 for the air cylinders l110C is connectedto another exhaust line 208, and this line in turn is vented toatmosphere through the fourway valve 200 in its normal position. -At thesame time, the cylinders of the air hammers are exhausted throughexhaust ports as 210, FIG. 1, which Iare formed integral with the hammercylinders.

Air under pressure is adapted to be supplied from a main line 215, andthe main line 215 terminates at a normally closed air-operated remotecontrol valve 216. The control valve 216 is strapped to the upper end ofan upright 217, FIG. l, supported on the frame 21 opposite `the upright20'1. Located in the main line 215 ahead of the remote control valve 216is a tting 218 adapted to furnish a continuous source of air underpressure through yal1 auxiliary line 219 to the four-way valve 200,which in the normal position shown in FIG. 8 connects line 219 to lines220 which open at the lower ends of the four air cylinders as 110C forthe air hammer control pistons as 110.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the four-way valve 200 innormal position biases the air system so that the pistons as l110 whichare adapted to raise and lower the air hammers are held by air underpressure in retracted position in the cylinders as 110C. To lower thepistons 1.10, and therefore the Vcross heads 103 that are connected tothe back heads of the air hammers, the handle of the four-way valve islowered or actuated. As a con-sequence, air under pressurewis furnishedfrom line 219 to Ithe lines 207 that open into the tops of the aircylinders of the air hammer central pistons as 110, and `at the sametime the lines 220 for these cylinders are exhausted. When the four-wayvalve is thus reversed, the remote control valve 216 is opened, and thisis afforded by a line 230 extended between line 208 of the fourway valve200 and a fitting 230A which enables air under pressure in line 208 toimpinge upon the remote control valve 216 to open the same. A T-itting231 is associated with the control valve 216, and when the remotecontrol valve is opened the fitting 231 furnishes air under pressure torespective hoses 236 and `237, FIG. 7, which are connected to the inputports of the cylinders for the air hammers, and ,thereupon the airhammers 70 and 71 commence simultaneous operation in a convential mannerto impart repeated driving blows to the two spikes to be driven.

In this connection it should be pointed out that in the present instancethe air hammers 70 and 71 are actuated immediately when the remotecontrol valve 216 is opened, and hence throttle valves or the like thatY Y 10 .Y

are ordinarily associated with air hammers of standard construction areeliminated to enable a tree ow of air under pressure `to be furnishedimmediately to the air hammers when the four-way valve is reversed.

Because air under pressure may not always be available when lthecarriage is not in use, it is advantageous to afford a mechanical propon the carriage to hold the hammers up. Such may beconveniently/attained by supporting `a prop Iarm 240 pivotally on a rod241 extended between bosses 243 yand 244 cast at the top of the airhammer guide supports as 131 and 132. This arrange-ment will beduplicated for each hammer of course. l

The end of each prop yas 240 is adapted to engage the exhaust spout 210of the corresponding Iair cylinder as shown in FIG. l. To release thehammers, it is merely necessary to disengage the props as 240 and thento dispose these in an idle position.

It will be seen from the foregoing that in accordance with the presentinvention a spike driver is aiorded wherein the spike to be driven isrst erected upright by a spike positioner, and when it is determinedthat the hammer is centered over the head of the spike, the hammer isthen actuated. By having resort to inclined walls in the front head ofthe hammer, the spike, if loose in the tie plate tat the moment it isdriven, will be maintaned in true alignment by the front head of thehammer. On the other hand, if alignment of the spike is not possible inthis way, then the front head of the hammer when it engages the head ofthe spike will automatically center the hammer block on the head of thespike as enabled by t-he means which mount the hammer for self-centeringmovement.

Hence, while we have illustrated and described the preferred .embodimentof our invention, it is to be understood that this is capable ofvariation and modiiication, 4and Vwe therefore do not wish to be limitedto the precise details set forth, but desire -to avalourselvesof suchchanges 'and alterations `as fall within the kpurview of the follow-ingclaims.

We claim:

1. `Spike driving apparatus comprising: a carriage; means, mounted onsaid carriage, for supporting said carriagepfor movement along arailway; means, mounted on said carriage, for erecting a prepositionedand pantially erected spike to upright condition; and means, mounted onsaid carri-age, for delivering a substantially downwardly directeddriving impact vto the head of the upright spike.

2. Spike driving apparatus comprising: a carriage; Imeans, mounted onsaid carriage, for supporting said carriage for movement along arailway; means, mounted on said carriage, for erecting a prepositionedand partially erected spike -to upright condition; a power drivenhammer, mounted on said carriage, for delivering substantiallydownwardly directed driving blows to the head of said upright spike,means Vfor engaging a side of the head of the upright spike to realignthe spike if the upright spike is yrnisa-ligned with respect to saidfront head, said means comprising ya front head mounted on said hammerand having a recess therein having upwardly and inwardly inclined wallssubstantially greater in height than the height of the head of thespike; and means for actu-ating'said power driven hammer.

3. Spike driving apparatus comprising: a carriage;

means, mounted on said carriage, for supporting said carriage formovement along a railway; spike positioner means, mounted on andextending below said carriage, for engaging and erecting a prepositionedand partially erected spike to upright condition as an incident ofmovement of the carriage along the railway; a power driven hammer,mounted on said carriage in alignment with said positioner means fordelivering a substantially downwardly directedV driving blow to the headof the upright spike; means for actuating said hammer; and

11 means, included in said spike positioner means,for effectivelyretracting said spike positioner means with respect to the upright spikeprior to said hammer deliver ing a blow to the head of the spike. Y 4.Spike driver apparatus comprising: a carriage; means, mountedon saidcarriage, for supporting said carriage for movement along a railway; lapair of spike positioner means, mounted on the carriage on oppositelsides of one rail of said railway, forV erecting prepositioned andpartially erected railway spikes or the like to upright condition as anincident Y-to movement of the carriage along the railway; a pair ofpower driven hammers, mounted on the carriage in alignment withrespective ones of said spikes positioners, for delivering substantiallydownwardly directed driving blows to the heads of said upright spikes;means for engaging respective sides of the heads of said upright spikesto realign said spikes if the spikes aremisaligned with respect to saidfront heads, said means comprising a pair of front heads individuallymounted on respective ones of said harnmers and each having a recesstherein having upwardly and inwardly inclined walls substantiallygreater in vheight than the height ofthe head of a railway spike;

means for electively retracting said spike positioners during driving ofthe spikes; and means for mounting said hammers on said carriage forself-centering movevment with respect to said spikes duringdriving ofsaid spikes.

Spike driving apparatus comprising: a carriage; means, mounted on saidcarriage, for supporting said carriage for movement along a railway;positioner means, mounted on said carriage, for erecting a prepositionedand partially erected spike or the like to upright condition; means fordelivering a substantially downwardly directed driving impact to thehead of the upright spike; and centering means for automaticallycentering said impacting means upon the upright spike by engagement ofsaid impacting means with the spike while the spike is being driven,said centering means including means for iloatingly supporting saidimpacting means upon said `carriage above said positioner means forlimited movement in a direction parallel to said railway.

6. Spike driving apparatus comprising: a carriage; means, mounted onsaid carriage, for supporting said carriage for movement along arailway; means, mounted on said carriage, forrerecting a prepositionedand partially erected spike to upright driving position as an incidentof movement of the carriage along the railway; impacting means fordelivering a substantially downwardly directed driving impact to thehead of the upright spike, said impacting means including a recessedfront head having upwardly and inwardly inclined walls for engaging thesides of the head of the upright spike to realign said spike if saidSpike is misaligned with respect to said front head; and centering meansfor automatically centering said impacting means upon the upright spikeby engagement of said recessed front head of said mpacting means withthe spike while the spike is being driven, said centering meansincluding means for floatingly supporting said impacting means upon saidcarriage above said positioner means for limited movement in a directionparallel to said railway.

7. In a Vspike driver of the kind comprising a carriage supported upon arailway for movement therealong, spike positioner means for erecting aprepositioned and partially erected spike to upright condition as anincident f movement of the spike driver along the railway, said spikepositioner means comprising a spike-engaging arm mounted on andsuspended below said carriage adjacent one rail of said railway andextending longitudinally of said rail in position to engage the shank ofa prepositioned and partially erected spike.

8. Spike driving apparatus comprising: a carriage; means,'mounted onsaid carriage, for supporting Ysaid carriage -for movement along arailway; a pair of spike positioners, each comprising a magnetizablearm; means,

mounted on said carriage, for suspending said spike posi- Itioners belowsaid carriage with said arms located on opposite sides of one rail ofthe railway and belowV the top of said rail in position to engage anderect prepositioned and partially erected spikes to upright condition,said positioner suspension means being retractableduring driving of theupright spikes; a pair of Vguides mounted on said carriage; a pair ofpower driven hammers, mounted on said carriage in engagement withrespective ones of said guides, and having front heads for deliveringsubstantially downwardly directed driving blows substantiallysimultaneously to the heads of a pair of spikes maintained in uprightposition by said spike positioners, the front heads of said hammersbeing recessed and having upwardly and inwardly inclined walls forengaging the sides of the heads of Said upright spikes to realign saidspikes if said spikes are misaligned with respect to said front heads;and spring means, mounted on said guides, effectively enabling saidhammers independently to center themselves, with respect to said spikes-and in a direction longitudinal to said rail, during driving of saidspikes.

9. Spike driving apparatus comprising: a carriage, means, mounted oncarriage, for supporting said carriage for movement along a railway;means for erecting a prepositioned and partially erected spike, saidmeans comprising a spike positioner arm and means, connected to said armand to said carriage, for suspending said spike positioner arm belowsaid carriage adjacent one rail of said railway and extendinglongitudinally of said rail in position to engage and erectarprepositioned and partially erected spike to upright condition as anincident to movement of the carriage along the railway; means comprisingan air operated hammer for delivering substantially downwardly directeddriving blows to the head of the upright spike; and means, associatedwith said spike positioner arm, for holding the erected spike up- Vrightprior to said hammer delivering a blow to the hea of the spike.

10. In a spike driver of the kind comprising a carriage supported upon arailway for movement therealong, a power driven hammer mounted on saidcarriage and including a front head for driving a spike, said front headhaving a downwardly opening recess having upwardly and inwardlyinclinedwalls for aligning a spike and for maintaining alignment of saidspike during driving of the spike, the height ofsaid walls beingsubstantially greater than the height of the head of a railway spike andmeans for automatically centering said hammer upon the upright spike byengagement of said inclined walls with the head of the spike while thespike is being driven, said centering means including means forVoatinglyl supporting said hammer upon said carriage for limitedmovement in a direction parallel to said railway.

1l. In a spike driver of the kind comprising a carriage supported upon arailway for movement therealong and spike driving means mounted on saidcarriage, spike positioner means for engaging and erecting aprepositioned and partially erected spike to upright condition, saidspike positioner means including magnetic means for holding the spike nupright position until the spike is driven.

12. In a spike driver of the kind comprising a carriage supported upon arailway for movement therealong and spike driving means mounted'on saidcarriage, spike positioner means for engaging and erecting aprepositioned and partially erected spike to upright condition, saidspike positioner means including means for holding the spike in uprightposition until the spike is driven;

13. Spike driving apparatus comprising: a carriage frame; wheels,mounted on said frame, for supporting said frame for movement along arailway; spike positioner means for engaging and erecting a pair ofprepositioned and partially erected spikes located on opposite sides ofone rail of said railway, as an incident to movement of said carriageframe along said railway, said positioner means including a pair ofspike positioners suspended below said frame on opposite sides of saidrail, each of said spike positioners including means for holding =aspike in upright position until driving of the spike is initiated; apair of horizontal guides, mounted on said frame in spaced relation toeach other and extending longitudinally of said railway; a pair ofhammer supports, each including a vertical guide mounted thereon; meansfor mounting said hammer supports on respective ones of said horizontalguides for lloating shifting movement therealong; a pair of hammers,each having a recessed front head having upwardly and inwardly inclinedwalls for engaging the head of a spike to realign the spike if the spikeis misaligned With respect to said front head; and means for mountingsaid air hammers on respective ones of said hammer supports, and inalignment with respective ones of said spike positioners, for verticalmovement on said vertical guides.

References Cited in the tile ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ForsythJuly 27, 1920 Doaks Mar. 13, 1923 Wilhelm Apr. 28, 1925 Segelhorst Sept.7, 1926 Ochs Sept. 14, 1926 Rasmussen et al May 15, 1928 Neae Mar. 4,1930 Talboys May 3, 1932 Smith Feb. 7, 1933 Zavatkay July 4, 1933 AllenFeb. 10, 1942 Schmutzer et al Jan. 12, 1943 Stephens Apr. 13, 1943Talboys et al. Aug. 30, 1949 ngraham Dec. 20, 1949 Rhoads Aug. 15, 1950Talboys et al. Nov. 20, 1951 Robinson May 5, 1953 Jensch July 16, 1957FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 8, 1952

